Valentine's Breakfast

I couldn't think of a more special way to thank my Valentine for being so great than to present him with a plate full of pork and cheese eggs! And yes, the toast is shaped like a heart - really went out of the box on that one. Nothing says, "I love you" like CHEESE EGGS!

What special foods did you enjoy today?

New Year's Black Eyed Peas

Let me start by saying I am generally NOT a fan of black eyed peas. My parents have made them all of my life and I have all but flat out refused to eat them until today. It's time I put on my big girl bib and try them out. After the clock struck 12 last night, I threw all of this in the crock pot, and it was ready by lunch time today. Surprisingly, they were not terrible. Who knew? I'm liking the world of dried beans/peas so far. Next up to try is curried chick peas with stewed tomatoes and butternut squash. I'll let you know how that goes. Hopefully I can make those photos look less gross than these. :)

Ingredients:
1 pkg dried black eyed peas
2 tsp salt
1 box (or 2.5 cans) of chicken broth, low sodium
4 pieces of bacon, sliced
1 vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic


Instructions:

1. Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Pour in dried peas, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain peas.
2. Add bacon, salt, onion, garlic, and peas to crock pot. Cover with chicken broth.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until peas are tender.

As a note, these were pretty good with some hot sauce as well. Enjoy!

Fresh Pasta Carbonara

 

In the spirit of destroying a perfectly clean kitchen, I decided to get out my pasta maker tonight to practice my technique a little. I found a recipe online for pasta carbonara, and modified it to make it suit my tastes. The pasta was much better than my maiden voyage!

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices slab bacon, diced
2 cloves diced garlic
2 tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken stock 
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh linguini
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 eggs, separated
1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into cutlets

Directions

1.  Put salted water in a large pasta pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
2. Add the oil and bacon to a large saute pan over low heat. Cook the bacon until crisp, being careful not to burn it, about 5 minutes.Remove bacon temporarily on onto a paper towel to drain.
3. Season the chicken breast cutlets with salt and pepper, then cook for 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through. (Will depend on thickness of cutlets.) Remove from pan, to rest.
4. Add the garlic and stir for 5 seconds. Add the drained bacon, wine, milk, stock and black pepper. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
5. Drop the fresh linguini into water and stir to separate strands. When pasta is just undercooked remove it from the water and add it to the pan with the sauce. Gently stir for 1 minute.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1/2 the cheese and the egg white and stir, being careful not to break the noodles. Add the egg yolk and lightly toss. Slice chicken thinly and toss in with pasta. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Garlic Green Beans

Tis the season for potlucks! I was looking for a way to dress up green beans without making a green bean casserole, so I did some research online and came up with this hybrid for last night's Christmas party. Highly recommended - the balsamic vinegar makes the difference. FYI, this recipe makes 8 servings, but I doubled it for my efforts last night.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
• 8 small new potatoes, diced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions

1. Place the chopped bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned. Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet with a lid over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with vinegar, salt, and

Steak & Potatoes

Occasionally, I like to treat my other half to a nice steak dinner. I'm learning to cook steak in the house without completely smoking up the entire apartment and setting off the smoke alarm - but I am impressed with how this actually turned out. Mainly because of the mashed potatoes - possibly my favorite food.

Regarding the steak, I just seasoned a pair of ribeyes with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and seared them in bacon fat. (mmm) Save the bacon for crumbling on top of mashed potatoes.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients:

• 5-7 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, peeled
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 c. Sour cream
• 1/2-3/4 c milk, depending on the consistency you like
• salt & pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into 1/2" pieces, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, then smash with a wooden spoon or masher. Add all other ingredients and even some cheese if you desire. Top with crumbled bacon - enjoy!

Warm Potato Salad

Yesterday, having been invited to a fantastic cookout, I went on the search for a potato salad recipe that did not involve the use of mayonnaise. I found one that was loosely based on Warm German Potato Salad, and then I tweaked it a little based on the ingredients I had laying around. It is definitely sweeter than your typical potato salad, but I think I ended up liking it. Here's how:

Ingredients

• 1 package tiny potatoes - I used a bag of the mini golden potatoes from the produce dept.
• 3 slices bacon
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Directions

1. Place the whole potatoes into a pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside to cool. (Note: the potatoes I used were the tiny variety - they did not need to be cut before boiling, but yours might.)               
2. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and parsley. Crumble in half of the bacon. Keep on heat until sauce thickens a little. Heat through, then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the remaining bacon over the top, and serve warm.               

As a side note: if you don't eat pork, this probably isn't the recipe for you. I feel like you'd probably have to do a lot of changing to make up for the loss of the smoky saltiness that the bacon adds here. Try it!